The 2012 ACC preseason football player of the year, Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins, didn’t make first- or second-team all-conference. He wasn’t even the Tigers’ best wideout -- DeAndre Hopkins was. Such is the folly of forecasting an all-league squad in July.

But futility notwithstanding, the exercise is fun, and the debate helps sustain fans and reporters until training camps and actual games. So with media set to assemble July 21 for the ACC’s annual football kickoff and voting – the arrivals of Syracuse and Pittsburgh complicate matters -- here’s my team.

I’ll offer a predicted order of finish later this week.

QUARTERBACK: Clemson’s Tajh Boyd. It’s impossible to bypass the conference’s returning player of the year. The ACC’s last repeat PoY was Florida State’s Charlie Ward in 1992 and ’93, who won the Heisman Trophy in that latter season. Boyd is also attempting to become the first quarterback to make first-team All-ACC three consecutive seasons since Duke’s Leo Hart in 1968-70. The top candidates to unseat Boyd are Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas and North Carolina’s Bryn Renner.

RUNNING BACKS:Miami’s Duke Johnson and Syracuse’s Jerome Smith. Johnson averaged a hey-now 6.8 yards per carry last season, while Smith rushed for 1,171 yards, most of any returnee in the ACC. Florida State's Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr. figure to be in this conversation come late November.

WIDE RECEIVERS:Boston College’s Alex Amidon and Clemson’s Sammy Watkins. Amidon’s 78 receptions and 1,210 yards lead league returnees. The Watkins pick, over Wake Forest’s Michael Campanaro, is based more on his freshman season (82 catches, 12 touchdowns) than last year (57 and three).

TIGHT END: North Carolina’s Eric Ebron. Media and coaches voted him second-team last season after he caught 40 passes for 625 yards. Virginia’s Jake McGee has a flair for the spectacular, and five of his 28 catches last season were for touchdowns. He just needs to be more productive.

CENTER: Florida State’s Bryan Stork. He anchored a line that helped the Seminoles average an ACC-best 5.6 yards-per-rush last season, earning second-team coaches and media. Georgia Tech’s Jay Finch was honorable mention last year.

KICKER: Clemson’s Chandler Catanzaro made 18-of-19 field goals in 2012, including a 37-yarder at the gun to give the Tigers a 25-24 Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over LSU. No one made a more pressurized or important kick, for his team or the conference. Conquering a top-10 opponent from the SEC was XXL for the ACC. Virginia Tech’s Cody Journell (20-of-25) wasn’t nearly accurate but made clutch kicks in wins over Georgia Tech, Boston College, Virginia and Rutgers.

RETURN SPECIALIST: Miami’s Duke Johnson, Georgia Tech’s Jamal Golden and Maryland’s Stefon Diggs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in 2012, and Florida State’s Rashad Greene returned two punts for scores. So take your pick. I sided with Johnson because he ranked second nationally in average return at 33.0 yards.

DEFENSE

ENDS: Virginia Tech’s James Gayle and North Carolina’s Kareem Martin. They were second-team coaches and media last year behind Florida State’s NFL-bound Bjorn Werner and Tank Carradine. Other worthy candidates: Georgia Tech’s Jeremiah Attaochu had 10 sacks last season and is moving to from outside linebacker to end as the Yellow Jackets transition from a 3-4 to 4-3 alignment. Virginia’s Eli Harold, Virginia Tech’s J.R. Collins and Miami’s Anthony Chickillo make this a position of strength.

TACKLES: Wake Forest’s Nikita Whitlock and Pitt’s Aaron Donald. Whitlock was second-team coaches and media last season, while Donald is a two-time All-Big East selection who had 18.5 tackles-for-loss in 2012, extraordinary for a tackle. Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan, Virginia’s Brent Urban and Virginia Tech’s Derrick Hopkins all capable.

LINEBACKERS: Virginia Tech’s Jack Tyler, Florida State’s Christian Jones and Boston College’s Kevin Pierre-Louis. Tyler is the conference’s top returning tackler (119) and was first-team coaches last season. The Seminoles’ leading 2012 tackler with 95, Jones has PoY ability, and Pierre-Louis was averaging nearly 10 tackles before missing three games with an injury. Miami’s Denzel Perryman and Boston College’s Steele Divitto among many other potential impact linebackers.

CORNERBACKS: Duke’s Ross Cockrell and Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller. Cockrell shared the ACC lead with five interceptions last season and was the No. 1 vote-getter at corner for the coaches’ all-league team. Fuller was honorable mention and wasn’t the Hokies’ best corner – second-teamer Antone Exum was. But Exum tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in January, making his return to all-conference form uncertain. North Carolina’s Tim Scott and Virginia’s Demetrious Nicholson are among others in the mix.

SAFETIES: Florida State’s Lamarcus Joyner and North Carolina’s Tre Boston. Coaches and media voted Joyner first team in 2012. Boston was honorable mention after intercepting four passes, one of which he returned 36 yards for a touchdown against Virginia. Virginia Tech’s Kyshoen Jarrett (83 tackles last season) is capable of a breakout year.

PUNTER: North Carolina’s Tommy Hibbard. He was second-team coaches and media behind Duke’s Will Monday last season, but the Tar Heels led the ACC in net punting, and Hibbard had a higher percentage of punts inside the 20.

PLAYER OF YEAR: Boyd. A Phoebus High graduate, Boyd is the fourth Peninsula product to win the award, joining Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor (Hampton) and Bryan Randall (Bruton), and North Carolina's Lawrence Taylor (Lafayette).